13th August 1857
Sir,
I have the honor to inform you that His Excellency the Governor in Council, has been pleased to appoint you to be Director of the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, without salary or allowance.1
I now enclose a memo of Instructions2 for your guidance in carrying on your duties, as also a copy of instructions forwarded to Mr Dallachy, the Superintendent of the gardens.3
(Signed) T. C. Balmain
For C.P.W.4
On the recommendation of David Moore M was appointed Director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens 'without salary or allowance' at a meeting of the Executive Council, 17 August 1857 (Minute 63, unit 3, p. 335, VPRS 1080, Public Record Office, Victoria). The appointment notice, dated 20 August, was published in Victoria Government gazette (1857) 21 August, p. 1558. The copy of the letter in the register is, however, clearly dated ‘13th August’, as are the other letter-copies surrounding it.
Memorandum not found.
On 18 August 1857 C. Pasley, Inspector General of Public Works, forwarded to Dallachy the instructions under which he was henceforth to act, now that M had been appointed Director of the Botanic Gardens. Signed by the President of the Board of Land and Works, D. Moore, and dated August 1857, these were: 'Instructions for the guidance of the Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens. | To engage the required number of gardeners, and laborers and to superintend their work. | To furnish weekly to the Director, a report shewing the progress that has been made, and a nominal return of gardeners and laborers, who have been employed during the week. Not to issue any plants or articles from the Gardens without the written order of the Director, or in his absence of the Assistant or Clerk. | No trees are on any account to be felled, either in the Gardens or the Domain, without the written authority of the Director. In case of its being necessary to fell any tree, all the wood is to be cut into billets, stacked, and disposed of by sale or otherwise, as the President of the Board of Land & Works shall direct. In no case is it to be used as firewood, by any Government employé unless paid for at current rates. | Not to allow more than three head of cattle at any one time within the domain. | Horses to be admitted on the order of the Director, and paid for according to existing regulations. | The Superintendent is generally to obey such instructions as he may receive from the Director, without whose knowledge and consent he will not commence any new work.' (No. 57/2563, unit 3, p. 442, VPRS 975/P1, Public Record Office, Victoria).
Commissioner of Public Works. The appointment was acknowledged in M to D. Moore, 18 August 1857.
Please cite as “FVM-57-08-13,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on